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Graham Rahal says there is a lot of excitement at the test. Photo by LAT Photographic

IndyCar teams eager to learn new car at open test

Several teams playing catch-up

February 9, 2018

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With a new universal aero kit, numerous teams are attempting to catch up to their Verizon IndyCar Series rivals who were part of the IndyCar portion of kit testing or the manufacturer test teams. Even major teams such as Andretti Autosport did not test for the first time until team testing began on January 9.

Some of the smaller teams have been able to test at Sebring International Raceway prior to this weekend’s IndyCar Open Test at ISM Raceway near Phoenix. That is why anticipation was high mixed with a little bit of anxiety at the first oval test of the season at the 1.022-mile short track.

“This will be a different place for me,” Graham Rahal said before hitting the track Friday. “I'm obviously looking forward to getting out there. I was watching video of last night, with the windscreen on the car. We're excited to get out there and give it a shot.

“There's a lot going on. There's a lot of momentum. There's a lot of excitement.”

For the four drivers at Andretti Autosport, they believe Team Penske’s three-driver effort and Chip Ganassi’s two-driver lineup are ahead of the game because both were part of the manufacturer testing period. Team Penske was also one of the two teams that originally tested for the series, along with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports last summer.

There were two three-hour test sessions on Friday including one that ran from 1 to 4 p.m. local time with a night test session from 6 to 9 p.m. Mountain Time.

“We want to see what happens at night,” said 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winning driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. “It was nice to get behind the wheel of a car on an oval after everybody has been talking about it for so long. I got to get in there, get a feel for it myself. I liked it. It was good fun. It is definitely lighter. A lot lighter than we were here last year.

“I think everybody is just getting what they need, their driving style, what they need from the car. It's still early. Track temp is way up. As for the race, it's going to be a lot less. Tonight, is going to be more representative of what we're looking for.

“All in all, it's pretty good. It's going to be very light in traffic, I'll tell you that much. So, we'll see. We'll see. There are a lot of unknowns at the moment.”

Hunter-Reay believes the new car will allow for more tire degradation and that means more sliding around.

“You can get passing going because the cars that have that little bit of advantage, better balance, some guys got a rhythm going, you're going to have more opportunity to pass with this new car,” Hunter-Reay said. “Any time you have a new car, to put it into perspective, we're on track three days on a road course before we get to St. Pete. That's a very short amount of time. It's obviously not ideal, but we're just going to lace up our boots and get on with it. That's all you can do.”

Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti is hopeful the new car will help him break a lengthy slump. He has not won a race since Iowa in 2011 and finished 16th in the standings in 2016 and 12th in 2017.

This car feels much better than the high-downforce cars he has driven the past three seasons.

With a limited supply of universal aero kit parts, and desert debris that cut some of the tires during Friday’s two three-hour test sessions at ISM Raceway, Verizon IndyCar ...

“I prefer it,” Andretti said. “I like a lighter car. For me, I really struggled with the old aero kit car. I felt it was very light, twitchy grip. You're either slammed with downforce or it snaps like that. With this thing, it's on the edge the entire time. There's some predictability you get from it, you feel it more, but you're very on edge.

“If I had to pick one, I would prefer this because I feel it more, I think. Ryan and I were just talking back to the old guys. No, I think it's back to the old style. I feel like it's early enough days that, yes, we can catch up. When there is anything new, a new car, new aero kit, at-track days are huge. We can simulate all these things we want. To really get out there and confirm what we're learning back at the shop is another thing.

“I don't think we should look at it like we're behind the eight ball. With a four-car team, that's where we can use it our benefits.”

Andretti driver Alexander Rossi won the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016 as a rookie. He made solid improvement last year in his second season in the series and is ready to challenge for a championship in 2018.

“I think it's easier to feel the car but it's still a big challenge,” Rossi said. “There's a lot of really good teams here. It's a big challenge to get the car in the right window, to find the balance for each individual driver under different circumstances, qualifying, race, temperatures, tire wear, et cetera. I don't think that part is any easier.

“It definitely is more of a natural driving style, I feel like, than the other car. From that standpoint it's a positive. In terms of the engineering aspect, I'd say it's the exact same. It's a big challenge to get it right, as all motorsports is. That's how it should be. Hopefully the best teams and drivers come to the top.”

Rookie driver Zach Veach is preparing for his rookie season in the series. This may be a great season for that because even the veteran drivers are starting with a different car than they drove last season.

“I think this is a great time for rookies to be coming in,” Veach said. “Even if you had a rookie season last year, I think it would have been a little harder to get up to speed. You're still taking away a lot of knowledge. Any time you're coming in, no matter what generation car, you're starting a little behind the eight ball.

“I think this is the closest to a Lights car we're going to get. For us, guys like Matheus Leist and I coming in, it's great timing.”

Friday’s six-hours of testing followed by six more hours on Saturday is simply another step in the learning process for the 23 cars and drivers that are preparing for the 2018 season.

“I'd say it's early days for our team,” Marco Andretti said. “We have two days at a Sebring with a new kit. We're still learning, for sure. Everybody is still learning.

“We're definitely thrown into it a bit late. But it's still a racecar. I like how it's lighter. I like how the feel comes more into the driver. For me, I find it easier to drive it to the limit because it's a more established grip limit, rather than 'hoping it sticks' type thing, which is what my problem was last year.

“So far so good on the road course. We haven't really been up against the best of the best yet as far as on the track the same day. I don't think our team has been out of the top three so far, so that's good.”